Sefton Carers Centre is committed to promoting the welfare and wellbeing of children, young people and adults at risk. Sefton Carers Centre’s policy is that its employees, contractors, volunteers or sessional tutors/facilitators will never condone abuse of any kind and that an important part of Sefton Carers Centre aim is to prevent abuse.

Carers look after friends and family who are disabled, frail, or ill and who may be vulnerable to abuse or neglect in their home or whilst in a care setting, such as a residential care home, day centre etc. Sefton Carers Centre also recognises that carers themselves may be vulnerable to abuse from the person they care for.

It is Sefton Carers Centre duty to report serious abuse to the appropriate authorities and to support carers who may be suffering from abuse themselves. Sefton Carers Centre procedures support and promote the well-being principle, a key concept within the Care Act about treating people holistically. Sefton Carers Centre is committed to safeguarding and protecting the welfare of carers and the people they care for.

There are five types of abuse:

Physical – being hit or injured on purpose

Financial – the theft or misuse of money, property or personal possessions

Sexual – involvement in a sexual activity which is unwanted or not understood

Neglect – not providing food, clothing, attention or care

Emotional – the use of threats fears or bribes which case distress.

People most at risk are:

Those who are dependant on others, e.g.

People with mental ill health

People with learning, sensory or physical disabilities

People who are socially isolated

People with dementia

Sefton Carers Centre has policies in place for Adult Safeguarding and Child Protection which are available to all staff and volunteers.

Sefton Carers policies require all personnel working with children under 18 years to have an Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service, which includes a check against the POCA (Protection of Children Act) list and the POVA (Protection of Vulnerable Adults) list; this is updated annually for Young Carers staff. All staff are given regular training on Sefton carers policies, including child protection.

Confidentiality

If Sefton’s Safeguarding Adults Board requests information about a safeguarding enquiry, Sefton Carers will supply the required information, observing Sefton Carers Data Protection principles. Sefton Carers is committed to respecting the confidentiality of information given to them in the process of their work but protection of vulnerable adults is of paramount concern and must override the confidentiality of all information pertinent to safety. If possible, consent to share information should be obtained. However, if it is believed a serious criminal offence has occurred then information will be shared with or without consent.

Sefton Carers is obliged to report any concerns related to the safety and wellbeing of an individual in cases where either the individual has made a disclosure of abuse or a member of staff feels there is a risk of abuse. If it is believed that a serious criminal offence has occurred and there is a clear and present danger to the vulnerable adult or other, then Sefton Carers staff have a duty to contact the police at the soonest opportunity.

A Hate Incident is any incident which the victim, or anyone else, thinks is based on someone’s prejudice towards them because of their Race, Religion, Sexual Orientation (LGB), disability or because they are Transgender.

If you, or anyone you know, has been called names, been bullied or had anything happen to them that you think may be because of one of these factors, then you should report this as a hate incident. Even if you don’t want the incident to be investigated, it is important that the police know about it, so that they can build up a picture of how many incidents are happening and where. This information can help police investigating other hate incidents.

Not all hate incidents will amount to criminal offences, but those that do become hate crimes. The Association of Chief Police Officers and the CPS have agreed a common definition of hate crime:

"Any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person's race or perceived race; religion or perceived religion; sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation; disability or perceived disability and any crime motivated by hostility or prejudice against a person who is transgender or perceived to be transgender." Crown Prosecution Service (CPS description)

Examples of Hate Incidents could include:

Verbal abuse, offensive jokes, hoax calls, abusive phone or text messages, hate mail, physical assaults such as hitting, spitting or punching, criminal damage like: graffiti, breaking windows, and damaging cars, online abuse for example Facebook or Twitter, displaying or circulating discriminatory literature or posters, bullying or intimidation by children, adults, neighbours or strangers or being singled out and treated differently by others because you are not the same as them.

How do you report it?

You can report a crime in a number of different ways:

· If it is an emergency and the crime is still taking place, call 999 and ask for the police.

· If it is not an emergency, do not call 999 and call 101 and the call handler will assist you.